1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flower pot covers for providing decorative coverings for flower pots and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a pot cover including a sheet of material provided with preset folds, creases, or score lines to control the shape of the pot cover when the pot cover is formed about a flower pot or other plant container.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In the florist and nursery industries, it is common to cover flower pots containing plants with sheets of material made of foil, paper, plastic films, and the like to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the potted plants. In addition, a cover serves several other useful functions. For example, covers made of waterproof material such as plastics and foil prevent leakage from the bottom of the pot. Also, light reflective material insulates the soil within the pot against temperature increases from overexposure to sunlight. Pot covers also serve to protect the soil, and to some extent, the foliage, from cold air. Further, pot covers may serve as padding during shipment of fragile pots and as a means for carrying the pots.
Several methods for forming a cover about a flower pot are employed. First, a flower pot can be covered simply by manually forming a sheet of material about the flower pot and securing the sheet of material to the pot with an elastic band or twist tie. This process of forming a sheet of material about a pot is tedious and, unless the former is reasonably skilled, can result in a cover that is unattractive.
Preformed covers for flower pots have been used for many years to accentuate or complement the aesthetic appearance of a floral grouping disposed in the flower pot. Such decorative covers are formed from a flexible sheet of material formed into a shape adapted to receive the flower pot. The preformed cover is simple and efficient in that a pot is merely placed into the preformed cover. The problem with the use of such covers is that the appearance of the cover cannot be altered.
Finally, portable devices for forming a sheet of material about a potted plant have also previously been proposed. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,521, issued to Donald E. Weder, the present inventor. The Weder '521 patent discloses an apparatus for forming sheet of material about a flower pot. The apparatus includes a frame having an object opening formed through a portion thereof adapted to receive the object. The cover former includes resilient contactors which are adapted to resiliently engage portions of the sheet of material for pressing the engaged portions of the sheet of material against the object when the sheet of material and the object are passed through the object opening. While such devices have met the need for rapid forming of covers about flower pots, as with manually forming a cover, such devices can be tedious to use over an extended period of time, as well as cumbersome to maneuver within a greenhouse.
To this end, a need exists for a pot cover which includes a sheet of material which is provided with preset folds, creases, or score lines to control the shape of the pot cover when the pot cover is formed about a flower pot or other plant container such that the pot cover can be formed about a potted plant in a simple, economical, and efficient manner. It is to such a pot cover that the present invention is directed.